Leave No Man Behind
by SarahTee
Summary: Not even suicidal Archangels...    Fix-it for the end of Hammer of the Gods.


Title: Leave No Man Behind (not even suicidal Archangels...)  
Rating: If you watch the show you can read this...seriously, this barely even merits a PG.  
Genre: Fix-it fic, bonding  
Characters: Sam, Dean, Gabriel, Lucifer, Kali  
Pairing: Sam/Gabe  
Spoilers: Season 5 through to Hammer of the Gods.  
Warnings: ummm...none that I can think of :-D  
Word Count: 1228  
Disclaimer: It only belongs to me when I'm dreaming - property of the almighty Kripke!

Notes: Written for wolfish_willow for her stocking over at fandom_stocking on lj.

* * *

They'd got Kali out, had got all the way to the Impala before Sam stopped. He ignored Dean's yelling to 'get in the damned car, Sammy!' because it had finally registered what they were doing.

Lucifer was inside, and they couldn't fight him – didn't know how, so running was definitely the sensible option.

Gabriel was inside as well though.

He was inside, doing what they had asked him to do – standing up to his family, to his insane, murderous older brother.

He'd finally decided to stand up and do the right thing, and they were leaving him to stand alone?

It wasn't right.

"Dean, we've gotta go back."

"What? Sammy, this is no time for jokes – get in the car dude!"

"I'm serious Dean – Gabriel tries to help, and the first thing we do is abandon him?"

"He told us to get _her_ out…" Dean replied, gesturing towards Kali who was already in the backseat.

"And…? You've never taken orders so easily from anyone not Dad – besides, this is out. She's out…he's not. We can't just leave him in there…"

"He's a big boy Sam, I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"Lucifer is his brother Dean, and I'm betting Gabriel cares more about Lucifer than Lucifer does about Gabriel…he's alone, and he's at a disadvantage…"

"And what advantage do you think we can possibly give him dude? Guy's a freaking Archangel! If he can't do it, what chance have we got?"

Everything Dean said made perfect sense, and yet Sam couldn't shake the memory of Gabriel giving them the dvd, telling them to get Kali out. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but there'd been something – perhaps something in the archangel's eyes, in the resigned tilt of his smile…

He was pretty sure that Gabriel was just buying them time, that he had no intention of walking out of there. A vague hope perhaps, but no real expectation.

"I'm not leaving him to die, Dean."

With that Sam turned on his heel and strode back towards the front entrance.

"Well shit," he heard Dean mumble, before calling after him. "Hold up Sammy!"

Sam stopped and half-turned, waiting to see what Dean would do.

He watched his brother open the rear door, and spoke.

"Hey, Princess…leave or help, your choice."

Without waiting for a reply, Dean shut the door and jogged over to Sam.

"You got a plan then Sammy?"

"We don't get killed. We don't let Gabriel get killed. I'm still working on the rest."

"Right. Suggestions from the pagan princess?" Dean asked, turning to face Kali as she approached them.

"Depends…"

"On what Kali?" Sam asked warily.

"On how far you're willing to go to help him. We can't fight Lucifer – if we try we lose. We might be able to pull Gabriel out though…"

"What's the catch?"

"Dean…" Sam hissed softly – they really couldn't afford to piss off the only person with a plan, after-all.

"Lucifer's blocking the usual transportation options. You'd need some heavy duty mojo to break through and pull him out. You'd need a connection strong enough to get you through Lucifer's walls."

"What kind of connection are we talking about?"

"A connection of blood and soul, Sam. Now, lucky for you I have some of Gabriel's blood right here…" she held up a vial before continuing "…and even luckier for you, Gabriel's angelic origins mean that his blood contains traces of his Grace – which is close enough to a soul for this spell."

"You can do the spell?"

"I can. And since I owe him it won't even cost you anything. But here's the catch, Dean. It's irreversible. Whichever one of you does this, that's it. You're bound for life – – – and he might not thank you for it. He always was very private, although I guess faking pagan God-hood might've had something to do with that."

Sam spoke before he even realised he'd made up his mind.

"I'll do it."

"Sammy! Are you nuts?"

"Dean, we're not letting him die if we can help it. If you've got a better plan, then feel free to share, if not shut up and help."

"Do you even realise what this would mean?"

"Yes. Look, we haven't got time to argue about this – he hasn't got time." Sam turned to Kali. "What do I need to do?"

"Hold out your hand…I need a silver dagger…" she held out her hand expectantly, and after a few seconds Dean heaved a sigh and pulled a small dagger from his boot, handing it over.

SPNSPNSPN

"Damn right they're flawed – – – but a lot of them try; to do better, to forgive. And you should see the Spearmint Rhino!"

Gabriel's skin was tingling as he spoke, but he shrugged it off and continued.

"I've been riding the pine for a long time, but I'm in the game now. And I'm not on your side, or Michael's…I'm on theirs."

"Brother, don't make me do this…"

"No one makes us do anything."

The tingling was more of a burning now, harder to ignore.

"I know you think you're doing the right thing Gabriel, but I know where your heart truly lies…"

He saw the tilt of Lucifer's head, the unexpected sympathy in his eyes, and realised the danger a second too late. His brother spun even as he raised his blade, grabbing his hands…

Only it wasn't Lucifer holding him.

The air was cold against his skin, and his blade hung loosely in his grasp as he stared, shocked, into the eyes of Sam Winchester.

Eyes that shone with power not his own.

Gabriel suddenly noticed the blood trickling down his arm from Sam's palm, and all at once the pieces slotted into place.

"What did you do Sammy?" Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Kali. "What did you make him do? Does he even know…?"

"He wouldn't leave without you, and yes, he knows."

"You got timing, I'll give you that! Why though, kiddo?" _Why did you do this to yourself, why did you do this for me?_

"Because leaving you to stand alone wasn't right."

As if it was really that simple.

But maybe, in the hunter's eyes, it _was_ that simple. Right and wrong, not smart and dumb, were what mattered to the youngest Winchester, especially after how badly he'd screwed up with that demon-girl.

"Hate to break up the moment, but we should probably leave before your brother finds us…"

"Right you are Dean-o."

Time enough later to discuss what this would mean. To explore the bond Sam had created between himself and Gabriel to save the archangel.

Raising his hand, fingers poised, he turned back to Sam.

"Where's safe to hide out?"

"I don't…um…Bobby's?"

Gabriel snapped, and the world changed around them.


End file.
